iful peace speeches (Charles Sumner's very eloquent ones among the
rest!) should have been proved mere froth and wasted paper rags by one
short telegram!

So the great evil came to _us_, as it has come to all nations, as we
believe it _must_ come, from what we now see, to every nation that will
be great and strong. The land, for a time, staggered under the blow.
Men's souls for an hour were struck dumb, so sudden was it, so unlocked
for. As duty became clearer, we awaked at last to the fact that was at
our doors. We turned to deal with it, as the best nations always do,
cheerfully and hopefully. We have made mistakes and great ones. We have
blundered fearfully. That was to have been expected. But we have gone
on, nevertheless, steadfastly, patiently. That was also to have been
expected. For three years and over, this has been our business. We have
indeed carried on some commerce, and some manufactures, and some
agriculture, but our main work has been fighting. The rest have been
subsidiary to that. And the land groans and pants with this bloody toil.
It clothes itself in mourning and darkens its streets, and desolates its
homes, and bleeds its life drops slowly in its patient agony. But it
never falters. It has accepted the appointed work. It sees no outlook
yet, no chance for the bells to ring out peace over the roar of cannon,
and it stands at its post bleeding, but wrestling still.

Has there been nothing gained, however? For the terrible outlay is there
yet no return? Has the war been evil and only evil so far, even granting
that we do not finally succeed, according to our wish? The present
writer does not think so. He believes there have been gains already, and
great gains, not merely the gains that may be summed in the advance of
forces, in territory recovered, in cities taken, in enemies defeated,
but gains which, though not visible like these, are no less real and
vastly more valuable, gains which add to the nation's moral power, and
educate it for the future. He leaves to others the consideration of the
material gain, and desires to hint, at least, at this other, which is
much more likely to be slighted or perhaps forgotten.

He has said enough to show that he does not like this slaughtering
business in any shape. He is sure that the sooner it is ended the
better. He has had its bloody consequences brought, in their most
fearful form, to his own heart and home, but he has a fixed faith,
nevertheless, that any